The Dodgers have a wonderful farm system as a result of they draft and develop gamers in addition to any franchise in baseball. They’re additionally excellent at figuring out under-appreciated abilities and serving to them maximize their potential (assume Evan Phillips, Yency Almonte, and Tyler Anderson). So when folks on social media cry concerning the Dodgers attempting to “purchase a championship,” simply smile and nod and maintain all of the correct, impolite ideas about these folks’s intelligence to your self.
However that doesn’t imply it’s not useful to be wealthy like Los Angeles. They will signal guys like Freddie Freeman (though LA often sits out the bigger-dollar free brokers). They will commerce for Mookie Betts and signal him to an extension earlier than he even performs a sport. And perhaps one of many greatest methods their monetary benefit manifests itself: They will signal gamers who’re liable to damage, figuring out they’ve the cash to switch them if essential.
Typically, it really works out — consider Wealthy Hill and AJ Pollock. Typically, it doesn’t — Scott Kazmir and Brandon McCarthy come to thoughts. However even the strikes that don’t work out don’t cripple the Dodgers, as a result of they will afford the replacements, too.
That brings us to this yr’s beginning rotation. There’s been lots of discuss that the Dodgers want so as to add one other beginning pitcher, though that discuss has died down considerably since all the great free-agent pitchers signed elsewhere.
However if you have a look at what the Dodgers have, they don’t want beginning pitching proper now. They’ve a rotation that, if wholesome, might be excellent:
LHP Julio Urias
LHP Clayton Kershaw
RHP Tony Gonsolin
RHP Dustin Might
RHP Noah Syndergaard
All 5 of these guys have been good at instances of their careers. All 5 of them have additionally spent vital time on the injured listing. It’s form of the definition of a high-risk, high-reward rotation.
The issue is, you must take the danger to get the reward, and which means rolling into the season with this as your beginning 5. LA goes into the season figuring out there will likely be missed begins right here and there, they usually have a handful of prospects able to fill in. Ryan Pepiot, Michael Grove, and Andre Jackson have all pitched within the massive leagues already, and prime prospects Bobby Miller and Gavin Stone are principally prepared.
So it behooves the Dodgers to enter 2023 and see what their rotation can do. Finest-case situation, all 5 guys are wholesome and Los Angeles has to scramble to determine methods to get taking part in time for the prospects. That’s a superb downside to have. Worst-case situation, there are accidents massive and small, and the prospects fill within the holes.
In the event that they get to the commerce deadline and have extra accidents than anticipated or the prospects simply aren’t reducing it, then the Dodgers ought to flex their monetary and farm system may on the commerce deadline to usher in a substitute. However bringing in a substitute proper now could be counterproductive to the plan.
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